Fun gameplay, let down by banner ads

In the previous version, this game was a 5 star hit. Gameplay is wonderfully diverse, especially as you get into the higher levels. Beautiful graphics; a well designed set of game screens; realistic animal models, vital points and reactions; diverse weapons and a fun upgrading system all make for a great in-game experience. Couple that with the fact that you can gain gold and energy by watching a video or two here and there, and build your cash with the help of the contract hunts, and youve got a recipe for a classic and timeless hunting game.

However, the latest update has put a damper on what was a brilliant game. Advertising has become markedly more aggressive. While the increased frequency of the pop-ups hasnt bothered me too much, it is the introduction of a new Google banner ad at the top of all the game (menu/zone) screens that completely obscures your view of you current cash, gold, energy and level progress ,that will never go away unless you click out of it, that has really frustrated me. It ruins the well designed menu and zone screens, obscures important information, comes back after 5 seconds when you click out of it, and is completely unnecessary. There is already enough advertising in this game, and if you dont want to pay money there are options for you to chose to experience more advertisements, so the introduction of this invasive banner baffles me.

Some other changes to this version are subjective. The amount of weapons you have the option to purchase has been significantly reduced. This has been offset by making the weapons now multi-zone capable, which increases the importance of upgrading, so doesnt detract from the experience in my opinion. However you cant get a head start on coming zones anymore by buying up-class weapons. If you are in zone 3 you can no longer buy a zone 4 or 5 weapon (now zone 4-6 and 5-7), you are stuck with the 3-5 weapons until you progress. It was fun to make a bunch of cash then buy a weapon that you could own any hint in your zone with (even though it took forever to build up the cash). But that only pushes you to unlock the next zone, so no real harm to the gameplay there.

All-in-all this is still a gorgeous, engaging and challenging game that is fun for hours. If you are willing to sit through the videos, it is possible to play without spending real money and still have a ball. However, what was once a solid 5-star game is now being hurt by excessive advertising. We all understand that ads are necessary to create these great games, but the banner ads are damping the experience by obstructing the players vital information, ruining the look of your beautifully designed screens, and ultimately affecting the overall playability of the game.

BackwoodsHunterGuy about Deer Hunter Classic, v2.11.6